After ‘LIK’ finds love on OTT, director Vignesh Shivan pens note on its theatrical debacle: 'Overwhelming negativity'

Director Vignesh Shivan's latest release, ‘Love Insurance Kompany (LIK)’ starring Pradeep Ranganathan and Krithi Shetty saw a poor reception at the box office. Recently the director shared a long note after its OTT release revealing that many people sent him messages saying they enjoyed the film.

Vignesh Shivan talks about negative reviews

Vignesh Shivan took to his Instagram stories, to share multiple messages he received from the audience who liked the film. He revealed that these messages made him think about what happened during its theatrical run. He thinks many people decided not to watch the film because of the negative reviews spreading online. He also added that some films manage to survive criticism while others do not get that chance.



“Many people have messaged me saying they missed the film in theatres because of the overwhelming negativity they saw online. Some films survive negative reviews; others don't. For films that lack support from their ecosystem, industry peers, or influential voices, public perception can completely change their fate. Reviews written to showcase intelligence or superiority often do more than critique a film—they can discourage audiences from giving it a chance and crush the dreams of ambitious filmmakers,” he said.

Vignesh Shivan still hurt by the film’s result

Expressing his sadness over its poor box office performance, he admitted that he still has not fully accepted the film’s box office result. He called it painful to experience the narrative around the film change so quickly after a promising start.

“I still haven't fully come to terms with LIK's box office result. What hurts most is how quickly the narrative shifted after a promising opening weekend. I genuinely feel that an earnest Tamil film that tried to be different, complete, and original deserved a little more generosity from its audience,” he added.

A lesson Vignesh Shivan will remember

Vignesh Shivan also shared a line told to him by a celebrated director. The line was, “The success of a film is often determined more by what surrounds it than by what exists within it.”

Speaking about the ‘LIK’, the film saw an excellent start during its opening weekend, collecting more than Rs 7 crore. However, it later had a drop in form and could only accumulate Rs 43.07 crore by the end of Day 43. The film’s worldwide collection stands at Rs 60.67 crore.